My office looks out onto the back deck of my home, where I can turn the slatted blinds and see into my tangled backyard. Tangled because there are things growing there that I did not plant, and yet would not destroy. My yard has fences all around and trees that had to be cut down because of disease. One was a poplar and one was a birch, and when they were gone, I really missed hearing the wind constantly singing through the leaves, watching migrating birds landing for a rest, seeing filtered sunlight through the leaves, and feeling the cool oasis of sheltering branches. It was a long, hot, sad summer without those beautiful trees.
The following spring, I noticed little saplings growing around the fence lines and instead of cutting them out, I left them, curious to see what was growing there. Today, at the eastern end of my deck I have a beautiful, strapping, strong big-leafed young maple tree shading my deck, with its fingertips starting to brush my bedroom window in the night breezes. I don’t mind the gentle “tap, tap” – it’s my connection to my maple tree. I still have my beloved lilac tree, which every year gives me sweet fragrance. Now, I also have two wild cherry trees (birds love them), one choke cherry tree (love it too), two small maples, a couple of aspens, and several small leafy trees I’ll have to identify one of these days.The guard the perimeter of the fences, making a moving picture of lush green leaves whenever there is a breeze. They are filled with birds, their nests, their song.
writtenmyway 